Roses and Riots | f. weasley

Chapter 45: He Who Must Not Be Named

Emilia and Harry scrambled backwards across the floor of the atrium as Voldemort approached them slowly, as though floating in a black smoke, his reptilian features sending violent chills down Emilia's spine.

They remembered themselves and raised their wands, but they were both disarmed by Voldemort before they could even blink.

He smiled cruelly at them, "Harry Potter."

He looked at Emilia, and meeting his eye made her feel like she couldn't breath, but she gritted her teeth and held his eerie gaze.

"And who is your little friend?" he asked Harry, as though this was a normal conversation to have.

"Fuck you," she spat.

"Emilia, don't-" Harry tried to warn her, and then Voldemort's entire demeanour changed.

"The sister?" he said coldly, his eyes narrowing as his eyes flickered between them, no doubt seeing the resemblance. "I cannot say that this is a welcome surprise."

Emilia didn't know what she was thinking, but the sight of him filled her with such anger that she couldn't stop herself as she climbed to her feet, with the intent of somehow attacking him.

Her stupid decision made him raise his bone-like wand, and her knees buckled as white hot pain filled her body again, and she felt like she had been set on fire.

She could hear Harry shouting for her, and then she lay still as the pain slowly ebbed away. Voldemort slowly approached her with the stride of a hunter stalking its prey, and he stood over her, staring down at her coldly.

"You should be dead," he said with a dangerously low voice.

It took every ounce of bravery Emilia had left to find her voice and answer him, "you should've killed me when you had the chance."

His cold eyes narrowed, and he looked almost perplexed, "I did."

Emilia felt her throat going dry at his words, and she stared up at him in shock, feeling frozen where she lay and her pulse pounded in her ears. What did he mean by that?

Harry stood up then, drawing Voldemort's attention away from her, "it's me you want, isn't it? Let her go."

Voldemort stared at her cruelly for another moment, and then he moved away from her, and she lay there still trembling as her nerve endings tried to recover from the onslaught of torture she'd just experienced, Voldemort's words still echoing around her head

"Yes, you are who I really want, Harry. But your sister has piqued my curiosity, so neither of you will be leaving tonight," Voldemort said, circling Harry.

Harry said nothing and Voldemort chuckled coldly, "so weak."

"If you wanted to kill us you would've done it by now," Harry said with feigned bravery.

Just then Dumbledore stormed into the atrium, and Emilia didn't miss how Voldemort's ghostly white features fell into a furious sneer.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom," Dumbledore said. "The Aurors are on their way, having captured the rest of your followers that were here."

"By which time I shall be gone, and you...shall be dead," Voldemort answered coldly, and then he raised his wand.

Dumbledore pushed Harry to the floor and out of the way as he blocked the spell, and Harry scrambled across the floor and pulled a weak Emilia out of the way.

They watched as Bellatrix escaped, getting away with Sirius' murder.

Emilia didn't have it in her to cry anymore, she was too shaken and full of fear as she gripped onto Harry who kept her upright.